Towel cabinet



TOWEL CABINET Filed March 5, i921 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 [72 ven 0?" 650 2 5 A STE/N512 /5L4 w w? 7/z'54ttornev5 Patented May 13, 1924.

UNITED, STATES Q 1,494,079 PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE A. STEINER, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAB, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO STEIN'ER SALES COMPANY, OF SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, A CORPORATION OF UTAH.

Application filed March 5, 1921'.

guards are provided to prevent the toweling from wrapping around the feed and winding rolls. These guards I have been able to dispense with in this improvement and at the same time I have made provision so that the towel can not be pulled backward or unwound from the soiled towel roll by any maliciously inclined person or by any one who does not understand the proper way of using the cabinet.

The invention consists generally in various constructions and combinations, all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view on the section line 1-1 of Figure 2,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view on the line 22 of Figure 1,

Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the manner of mounting the guard plate and friction stop roller in the rear of the cabinet,

Figure 4 is a detail view, showing the position the friction stop roller assumes when the toweling is pulled backward.

Figure 5 is a front view of the measuring device,

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view of the same.

In the drawing, 2 represents the back of the cabinet, 3 the side walls thereof and 4 a door mounted to close the upper portion of the cabinet at the front, normally concealing the soiled toweling, and the guard in the rear thereof. The side walls of the cabinet have guideways 5 formed therein to receive a rod or shaft 6 on which the roll of cleaning toweling 7 is mounted. Usually this toweling will be wound on a suitable tube at the laundry and then when placedin the cabinet, the rod 6 will be thrust through the TOWEL CABINET.

Serial No. 449,899.

tube, thereby supporting both ends of the roll in position for use. This clean towel roll is preferably in the lower' forward portion of the cabinet, as shown in Figure Beneath and slightly in the rear of the ver tical axis of this roll is a feed roll 8 having a roughened surface 9, preferably of sand paper, though any other suitable material may be used. The contact of this roughened surface roll with the toweling operates to revolve the clean towel roll and deliver a suflicient length thereof for wiping purposes. A similar winding roll 10 is mounted in the upper portion of the cabinet, also having a roughened surface and a driving connection 11 with the shaft of the roll 8, and these rolls being of the same diameter and operating simultaneously, a corresponding movement will be imparted to the towel'rolls with which they are in contact. The shaft of the winding roll has an extension 10 at one end projecting through a disc 12 that is secured to the side wall of the cabinet and provided with a cam groove 13 formed with an ofiset 14 on the upper side and a shoulder 15. The end of the extension 10 is squared and provided with a crank 16 having an operating handle 17 and a dog 18 having a lug 19 is mounted to slide lengthwise on the squared portion of the extension, with its lug normally sliding in the cam groove 13 in position to engage the stop 15 and arrest further movement of the crank until the dog is lifted sufliciently to clear the shoulder 15 and pass out of the offset. The feed is thus positively checked with each revolution of thewinding roll and delivery ceases until the dog is disengaged from the stop.

The soiled towel roll has a shaft or rod 20 adapted to enter guides 21 provided in the sidewalls of the cabinet, said guides being arranged to direct the soiled towel roll to a point in the rear of the axis of the winding roll 10, as indicated plainly in Figure 2, the soiled toweling resting by gravity upon this winding roll and being revolved with the winding roll to wind up the soiled toweling as fast as it is unwound from the clean towel roll beneath.

I have found in the operation of cabinets of this type that where the feed and winding rolls are directly beneath the axis of the towel rolls, that when the towel rolls become small, of the same diameter or even smaller than the winding rolls, there is great danger of the toweling wrapping around the feedand winding rolls and interrupting, if not stopping altogether, the operation of the cabinet. In my application above referred to, I have avoided this difficulty by providing guards adjacent to the point of contact of the towel and feed and winding rolls, but I have discovered that by arranging these rolls in staggered relation, as shown in Figure 2, that all difficulty of wrapping of the toweling on them is avoided and guards to. guide the toweling away from these rolls are unnecesary. I am thus able to simplify the number of parts necessary for the cabinet and also make a considerable saving in the-cost of manufacture.

To prevent the person placing the clean toweling in the cabinet from improperly directing the loose or soiled end to the soiled towel roll, I prefer to provide a' guard in the rear of this roll, consisting preferably of a frame 22 pivoted at 23 and having a rear wall 24 adjacent to the rear wall of the cabinet, between which wall 24 and said cabinet wall the towel is inserted preparatory to winding it on the soiled towel roll. This guard wall 24 has an upper edge 25 on which the path of the winding roll.

I prefer to provide lugs 25 on the upper portion .of the frame 22 to contact with the rear wall of the cabinet and limit the backward movement of the guard with respect thereto. As shown in Figure 2, the wall 24 may bridge the rear wall of the cabinet, but is spaced sufliciently therefrom to allow the toweling to slide freely on its passage to the soiled towel roll.

I prefer also to provide a latch 25 pivoted on the side wall of the cabinet, in position to engage a shoulder 25* on the upper portion of the frame 22. This latch prevents the forward tilting of the guard frame in the normal operation of the cabinet. When it is desired to place a clean 'roll of toweling in the cabinet, the latch is raised, allowing the guard frame to tilt forwardly so that the operator can readily insert the loose end of the towel over the guard and bring said end down to the shaft of the soiled towel roll. The lower portion of the guard has an opening through which the operator may thrust his hand for convenience in placing theclean towel in the cabinet.

- I also prefer to provide an attachmentto prevent the toweling from being pulled backwardby any mischievous person or any one not familiar with the use of cabinets of this kind. With this end in view, I protion of the frame 22 when the toweling is in contact with the smooth surface of this roll. 'When, however, an attempt is made to pull the toweling backward, the roll 28 is partially revolved by the engagement of the toweling with its surface until it assumes .the position shown in Figure 4, where the pin 30 contacting with the upper end of the frame 22, prevents further revolution of the roll and the engagement of the toweling with the friction surface will prevent it from slipping backward on the roll. I have found that while the soiled toweling will slip easily over the smooth surface of the roll when in the position shown in Figure 3, that backward movement of ,the toweling will instantly move the roll to the position shown in Figure 4, where further backward movement will be instantl arrested. As soon as the soiled toweling hegins to move in the proper direction toward the'winding. roll, the roll 28 will be returned to its normal position, as shown in Figure 4, and the proper feed and winding of the toweling may be resumed. I

As shown in Figure 2, the roll of soiled toweling will be normally concealed by the door in the front of the cabinet, only the clean roll being visible, and the guard and friction roll in the rear of the cabinet will also be' concealed and protected, though a clean towel roll in the cabinet and connect its loose end with the shaft of the soiled-towel roll. With this device the operator, raising the dog 18,out of engagement with the shoulder 15, may operate the winding roll by means of the crank and through the driving connection with the feed roll may revolve it simultaneously and synchronously to unwind a predetermined length of the clean toweling to a point where it canbe conveniently reached by the user; or the user, disengaging the dog from the stop with one hand, may pull the clean toweling with the other hand and deliver the clean towelingin substantially the same manner. Backward movement of the toweling is positively prevented so that a person unfamiliar with the device or an one maliciously inclined can not disturb t e effective or proper operation of the parts.

I'claim as my invention:

1.- The combination, with a cabinet and clean and soiled towel rollsmounted one above the other therein, and means for feeding the clean towel from the lower roll and winding the soiled .towel upon the upper roll, the clean portion of the towel being delivered at the front and below said cabinet and thesoiled portion directed upwardly at the real of said cabinet a guard frame pivoted at its lower end and over which the soiled towel passes, means for preventing tilting of the guard frame and means on the guard frame engaging the towel to prevent backward movement thereof and unwinding of the soiled towel roll.

2. The combination, with a cabinet and clean and soiled towel rolls mounted therein and means for feeding the clean towel from one roll and winding the soiled towel upon the other roll, of means having smooth and friction surfaces and a limited rotary movement for engagement of the soiled towel with said surfaces respectively for guiding the towel to the soiled towel roll and preventing backward movement thereof.-

3. The combination, with a cabinet and clean and soiled towel rolls mounted therein and means for feeding the clean towel from one roll and winding the soiled towel upon the other roll, of a roller over which the soiled towel passes to said soiled towel roll, the towel normally sliding freely on said roller and means on the roller to check backward movement of the soiled towel to unwind it from its roll.

4. The combination, with a cabinet and clean and soiled towel rolls mounted therein and means for feeding the clean towel from one roll and winding the soiled towel upon the other roll, of aroller over which the soiled towel passes to said soiled towel roll, the towel normally sliding freely on said guard and means mounted to check backward movement of the soiled towel to unwind it from its roll, said means comprising a rocking roller having a smooth and a friction surface.

5. The combination, with a cabinet and clean and soiled towel rolls mounted therein and means for feeding the clean towel from one roll and winding the soiled towel upon the other roll, of a guard over which the soiled towel passes to said soiled towel roll, the towel normally sliding freely on said guard and means mounted to check backward movement of the soiled towel to unwind it from its roll, said means comprising a rocking roller having a smooth and a friction surface and means for limiting the rotation of said roller in each direction.

6. The combination, with a cabinet and clean and soiled towel rolls mounted therein and means for feeding the clean towel from one roll and winding the soiled towel upon the other roll, of a guard over which the soiled towel passes to said soiled towel roll, the towel normally sliding freely on said guard and means mounted to check backward movement of the soiled towel to unwind it from its roll, said means comprising a rocking roller having a smooth and a frlction surface. and a pin mounted eccentrically in the end of said roller and having -a stop for limiting the rotation thereof.

in, means for operating said rolls to deliver the clean towel from one roll and wind the soiled towel on the other roll, a guard pivoted in said cabinet and having a wall over which the soiled towel passes to said soiled towel roll, said guard tiltingforwardly to the front of the cabinet when the soiled towel roll is removed to permit convenient insertion of the loose end of the soiledtowel between said guard and the rear wall of the cabinet.

8. The combination, with a cabinet, of clean and soiled towel rolls mounted therein, means for operating said rolls to deliver the clean towel from one roll and wind the soiled towel on the other roll, a guard sup ported between the soiled towel roll and the rear wall of the cabinet and having a surface over which the soiled toweling passes to its roll, means for normally locking said guard in its guiding position and said guard bein mounted to move forwardly when the soile towel roll is removed to permit convenient insertion of the soiled toweling between said guard and the rear wall of the cabinet.

9. The combination, with a cabinet, of clean and soiled towel rolls mounted therein, means for operating said rolls to deliver the clean towel from one roll and Wind the soiled towel on the other roll, a guard supported between the soiled towel roll and the rear wall of the cabinet and having a surface over which the soiled toweling passes to its roll, means for normally locking said guard in its guiding position and said guard bein mounted to move forwardly when the soiled towel roll is removed to permit convenient insertion of the soiled toweling between said guard and the rear wall of the cabinet, and a roll mounted to rock in said guard and having smooth and friction surfaces to engage the towel.

10. The combination, with a cabinet, of clean and soiled towel rolls mounted therein, means for operating'said rolls to deliver the clean towel from one roll and wind the soiled towel on the other roll, a guard frame ivoted at its lower endnear said winding r0 1 and projecting upwardly therefrom in the rear of said soiled towel roll, aroll mounted in the upper end of said frame and having smooth and friction peripheral surfaces to contact with the towel, said roll having a rocking movement in its bearing and normally having its smooth surface in contact with the towel moving toward said soiled towel roll, backward movement of the towel rocking said frame roll and causing engagement of its friction surface with the towel to arrest such backward movement.

11. The combination, with a cabinet, of a clean towel roll mounted in the lower portion thereof, a soiled towel roll in the upper portion of said cabinet. means for operating said rolls to deliver the clean towel from the lower roll and wind the soiled towel on the upper roll, means for measuring the. length of clean toweling delivered with each movement of said operating means, a guard frame interposed between said soiled towel roll and the rear of the cabinet and having a wall extending above said soiled towel roll and over which the soiled towel passes to its roll, means mounted in said guard frame and engaging said soiled towel for guiding it forwardly to its roll but preventing backward movement thereof to unwind the soiled towel roll, said guard frame being mounted to tilt forwardly for convenience in directing the loose end of the towel between it and the wall of the cabinet and provided with means for normally locking it in its working position, and the front of the cabinet having means for normally concealing said soiled towel roll and said guard frame.

12. The combination, with a cabinet, of

friction feed and winding rolls mounted therein and having a driving connection between them for simultaneous movement, clean and soiled towel rolls mounted in said cabinet for quick insertion and removal, the clean towel roll being positioned in the lower portion of said cabinet and the soiled towel roll in the upper portion of the cabinet and said towel rolls resting by gravity uponsaid friction rolls respectively and driven thereby, the clean towel depending from its roll at the front of and beneath the cabinet, the soiled towel passing upwardly between the clean towel roll and the rear wall .of the cabinet to the soiled towel roll, and an oscillating roller reventing backward movement of the soiled towel and unwinding of the soiled towel roll.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 26th day of February, 1921.

GEORGE A. STEINER. 

